House of Aurelac
| founder = Kagetsu I | final ruler = | current head = Geraden Aurelac | cadet branches = | races = Humans | ethnic groups = Maar Sulais | allegiance = Grand Alliance | enemies = | patron deity = | ageoftga = }} The House of Aurelac, the royal house of Maar Sul, has reigned throughout the kingdom's lengthy history in the Land of the Living. Its members are descendants of Kagetsu I, the Lord of the Andain, who was also the kingdom's founding father. Because Kagetsu was the Andain son of Mardük, the Aurelacs are thus also direct descendants of Mardük although the only things remaining of their connection to the God of Chaos are their natural ability to shapeshift into wolves and back at will. The Aurelacs have ruled Maar Sul from the capital, Maar Sul City, for generations and are still the most influential noble family in the kingdom after the Catastrophe in the Fourth Age. The head of the house is presently King Geraden Aurelac. The name Aurelac means Golden Lake, and the house's coat of arms, a golden phoenix on a field of black, has been adapted as the flag of Maar Sul. History First Age The House of Aurelac began with Kagetsu I, the founder and King of Ancient Maar Sul, who was the Andain son of the god Mardük. Maar Sul's founding was so influential that the date marks the beginning of recorded history and the First Age in the Land of the Living. Kagetsu chose a mortal woman, Marya, as his consort and gave her the gift of immortality. They ruled together until Kagetsu's defeat and imprisonment at the end of his rebellion in the War of the Andain which also marked the end of the First Kingdom of Maar Sul. The defeated Maar Sul was abandoned and would lie in ruins for many centuries. Second Age Thousands of years passed, but Kagetsu was eventually released from imprisonment by Leon Alcibiates during the Manster Rebellion. After the rebellion had ended, Kagetsu was freed from his bond with Leon and fled to the southern part of Verdane where he reunited with his wife Marya and began amassing his former Andain followers and human sympathizers together, eventually rebuilding what would become the Second Kingdom of Maar Sul. During the Arawn Losstarot War, Marya was captured and raped by the warlock Arawn Losstarot and eventually gave birth to their son who was dubbed the Foundling. Kagetsu, angered by Arawn's actions, nevertheless held no ill will towards the child and allowed Marya to keep it, adopting the Foundling into the Aurelac family. The Arawn Losstarot War as well as the Second Age ended in the Explosion which killed off several mortals and all the living Andain, rearranged the continents and destroyed most of the existing nations. Maar Sul survived, however, but suffered from the loss of its founding father Kagetsu. Marya was heavy with Kagetsu's child and gave birth to it but, due to shock from her beloved husband's untimely demise, disappeared from the political scene soon after and left the kingdom of Maar Sul to her and Kagetsu's son who would be the first of many Aurelac descendants to come in the Third Age. The Foundling lived with his Aurelac half-brother for a while but eventually disappeared from Maar Sul, seeking his destiny elsewhere, while the Aurelac child grew up to become the King of Maar Sul. Third Age Distreyd Era The House of Aurelac, descended from Kagetsu's son, became the royal house of Maar Sul who were loved by most Maar Sulais and ruled from the kingdom's capital, Maar Sul City. In the following centuries, Maar Sul prospered under the Aurelacs' guidance. Although the Aurelacs allowed the cities of Maar Sul to have relative autonomy in their matters and gave nobles much freedom to conduct their businesses as long as they remained ethical and loyal to the royal house, they didn't hesitate to punish those who broke the laws of the kingdom or conspired against it with harsh measures such as executions and stripping noble status from rebellious houses. By the time of the reign of Remy Aurelac, the Yamatian Invasion happened and forced Remy and his three children to flee from the capital which was taken over by the Yamato Empire and the Clergy of Mardük. The Aurelacs fought a guerrilla war against the Yamatian occupiers for years while gathering intel on the invaders' weaknesses. However, the ambitions of Martin Struan, head of the House of Struan, proved to be fatal to some of the royal family members when he conspired with the Yamatians and eventually orchestrated the deaths of King Remy and Princess Réin Aurelac. Martin almost succeeded in assassinating Princes Kagetsu II and Geraud Aurelac as well while he took the throne of Maar Sul for himself as a quisling for the Yamatians. This marked the beginning of the Struan Rebellion. Kagetsu II eventually managed to rally the Grand Alliance behind him and reclaimed his throne, executing Martin Struan for high treason and revoking the House of Struan's noble status as punishment. Kagetsu II participated in the rest of the Great War against Yamato until he fell in the First Battle of Vulpengaard Keep. His brother Geraud had also perished in the Cataclysm which ended the Great War, leaving the kingdom with a problem of succession. Godslayer Era Geraud's son Geraden Aurelac had vanished from the capital by the time of the Cataclysm, and Kagetsu II's son Gerard Aurelac was an infant, so a regent would be needed until the son of Kagetsu II could take over the throne. The regent crisis was averted when it turned out that Kagetsu II had named Leon Alcibiates his temporary heir and had adopted him into the family, thus allowing Leon to become the Prince of Maar Sul and rule in Gerard's place until Gerard would come of age. Although this upset some nobles, Leon had enough support from the Aurelacs' allies that he would rule Maar Sul for the next decade. By 1017 AE, the Proninist Party had begun the invasion of Maar Sul thanks to funding from the Maar Sulais Matheson Crime Family who wished to profit from the chaos. During these troubled times Gerard was already in his teens, and Leon chose to abdicate the throne in the young Aurelac's favour, naming Gerard the King of Maar Sul and thus restoring the kingdom to the Aurelacs. Gerard would turn out to be wise for his age, leading the Maar Sulais to victory against the Proninists in the Second Battle of Maar Sul and choosing his childhood sweetheart Elena Jeremy as his future Queen once they would be old enough to marry. However, a crisis took place in the capital once more when Gerard's palace was infiltrated by agents of the Grey Cult who kidnapped him. Realizing the severity of this act and the fact that the former regent Leon was travelling abroad at the time, Chancellor Ademar Wisteria appointed Elena Jeremy as regent until Gerard was found. A handful of nobles conspired to take the throne in the king's absence, but they were quickly executed on the spot to prevent dissension from spreading. Gerard was eventually found and taken back to Maar Sul where he took back his throne and would rule with Elena by his side although they weren't married yet. The threat to the royal house was far from over, however, as Port Dunross in the east fell to a newly arrived faction calling itself the True Aurelac. It turned out that this faction was in fact led by the long-lost Prince Geraden Aurelac, Gerard's cousin, who had been trained in secrecy by Marya Aurelac herself so he could take over the throne from his cousin whom he and Marya saw as weak and turn Maar Sul into the powerful, aggressive kingdom it had been in Kagetsu I's time. Marya committed suicide soon after to be reunited with Kagetsu in death once she had made sure Geraden could finish her work for her, leaving the True Aurelacs in Geraden's care. Fourth Age When the Grand Alliance had been weakened by the Second Great War and the following Catastrophe, Geraden's True Aurelac struck in Maar Sul. The dark prince used his status as an older heir, his army and his political skills to his advantage and swayed several Maar Sulais to his side, eventually taking over the throne from his younger cousin and naming himself the true King of Maar Sul. Family Tree * dotted lines indicate affairs, or (in the case of Kagetsu and Foundling) adoption Coat of Arms The Aurelac coat of arms is based on an ancient crest which Kagetsu I once wore. The coat of arms consists of a golden phoenix on a field of black. Relations Draco The House of Draco suffered during the Arawn Losstarot War because the house's founding father Draco betrayed Kagetsu I. Since the Explosion, the Dracos have restored their honour and are now in good standing with the Aurelacs but are still ashamed of the first Draco's actions. Struan After Martin Struan's failed bid to take over the throne of Maar Sul in the Struan Rebellion which led to the deaths of King Remy Aurelac and Princess Réin Aurelac as well as the subsequent execution of Martin for high treason by Prince Kagetsu II's hand, the House of Aurelac and the House of Struan have ended up in a strained alliance which is barely holding on as both sides view the other with contempt. In the Aurelacs' case it's because Martin committed high treason and sent assassins after the royal family, and in the Struans' case it's because Martin was executed without a proper trial by Kagetsu II's spur of the moment decision. Kagetsu II later revoked the House of Struan's noble status as punishment for Martin's rebellion. Wisteria There was initially bad blood between the Aurelacs and the House of Wisteria because Wister's brother Draco betrayed Kagetsu I during the Arawn Losstarot War, which also brought shame upon Wister's descendants by proxy. Since the Explosion, however, the Wisterias have become the Aurelacs' staunchest allies. There has been so much intermarriage between Aurelacs and Wisterias that the Wisterias have, within the past generation, come to be considered as cousins of the Aurelacs. The Wisterias have also ended up becoming Chancellors of Maar Sul, thus essentially becoming the Aurelac kings' right-hand men in political and military matters. See also *House of Wisteria *Maar Sul (nation) Aurelac Category:Fourth Age Aurelac Category:Maar Sul (nation) Category:Third Age